


Until Killing Come

by Alliance (Xazz)



Series: Cypress Hall [31]
Category: Flight Rising
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-25 23:23:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14987810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xazz/pseuds/Alliance





	Until Killing Come

It was still late when Astra woke up. She wasn't sure what woke her but she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. She got out of bed and found a lamp, turning it up to just be bright enough to cast a warm glow around her. She could barely make out the lump of her beloved still asleep in her bed. Whatever had woken her hadn't woken them. She pulled a nightgown on and left her room, taking the lamp with her. She turned it way down so it was nearly perfectly dark in the twisted Warren halls so she didn't lose her dark vision and wouldn't miss anything that might prowl the tunnels.

She was drawn out of the sleeping tunnel her room was in and through the maze she knew as well as her own hand. She went deep into the tunnels, following a feeling and not so much a precise knowing. It led her down a tunnel she rarely went to and it plunged deep and dark into the earth, the walls around were clammy and she shivered in her thin nightgown. She should have brought a cloak. She knew better than to explore the Warren so unprotected.

Around a bend she came to a standstill. Standing outside a great chamber was Azazel. He was dressed as if he'd never gone to sleep and was fingering his curled mustache. He was looking into the chamber and she could clearly see his white and yellow eyes trying to pierce the darkness. He noticed the soft light from her lamp and before she even had time to back up he strode over to her. “And what are you doing in a place like this?” he asked, face close as he bullied her against the wall of the tunnel.

“I live here, asshole. I can go where I want,” she hissed and shoved him a bit. “What are you doing here?” she growled.

“Meeting your competition, my lovely Astra,” he said and stroked her cheek with a knuckle ever so gently.

“Fuck you,” she slapped his hand away.

He chuckled. “Now don't be jealous, Astra, you're still my favorite.”

“Do me a favor and kill yourself,” she shoved him again and stalked past him towards the mouth of the cavern. He followed her but didn’t trespass past the mouth of the entrance and he felt his fingers brush through her hair trying to grab her to stop her from entering. She saw why a moment later when Abbadon stalked out of the gloom into the flickering light of Astra’s lamp. His red eyes were intense and full of hatred as he put himself between Astra and Azazel, growling, his heavy metal armor clicking together softly. She put her hand on his wing joint and he looked at her. “Don’t,” she said softly, “Not yet.”

Abbadon just snarled at Azazel, his crest flaring, and the imperial made humi retreated a few steps. She’d never seen Azazel ever cow himself. He must have feared Abbadon more than Astra thought.

Inside the hollowed out earth was a soft light emanating from two large shapes. It took her a moment to realize it was the pallid green hide of Savathün and Oryx. There was a perfect lamp full of warm starlight between them where they were curled and coiled around something. Astra walked over to them, shuttering her lamp as she went to better see their huge natural born forms. Oryx sensed her approach and turned his large head towards her, for a second his muzzle wrinkled in a snarl but Savathün pressed on his flank.

“What are you doing here, girl?” Savathün asked her as she finally stood before them.

“I don’t know. I woke up and felt compelled to come here,” she said truthfully because she gained nothing from lying and lost nothing from telling the truth. “What’s going on? Is this where you’ve been, Mistress?” she asked. Savathün had been gone for some time and her studies had crawled to a stand still without her guidance. That and the influx of members of the Hall in and out of the Warren because of the threat of the Emperor had left her with more time on her hands than she knew what to do with.

“Yes,” Savathün’s silky voice said and she moved somewhat, lifting a pitch black wing so Astra could see what the two Imperials were protecting.

Astra’s eyes grew wide. It was a nest. It was made of soft fabric and there were the remains of two eggs in it. One had cracked open and lay in three neat pieces of glass-like shell near a hatchling. The other was a smashed egg, the inside dim and cloudy. Astra had only heard of such things but had never seen _egg rot_ first hand. It felt wrong to look at the rotten egg and Oryx had pulled it close to his body to not let it too close to the living hatchling. The hatchling was easily as large as Astra was in her humi form and was curled up asleep next to, of all things, the Slaughter beast. “Oh,” she said, looking up at Savathün’s covered head.

“Come closer,” Savathün said and beckoned with a claw. What Azazel said echoed in her head. Her replacement. She’d always be Azazel’s favorite. It made her feel sick. Was Azazel going to hurt this little one too? She carefully stepped over Oryx’s wrapped tail into the fabric nest. “This is your new sister,” she said softly, putting her great claw behind Astra. Astra knew what she meant. Sisters in that they were both students of Savathün. “Her name is Killing.”

“Why would you name her that?” Astra asked, shocked, disgusted. The little hatchling was the same pale green and black as her parents were Oryx’s iridescent hide but she was different. Her wings were strange and transparent and her legs and throat were black like stained by ink. Slaughter was curled around her and it was awake, staring at Astra with its dead yellow eyes that were more like lamps than actual eyes. Not for the first time Astra was turned off by it. Slaughter was such a freaky thing. It also explained why Abbadon was here. Slaughter was petrified of Azazel and always ran away cowering and whimpering whenever he came near. For that alone Astra felt bad for it. Abbadon kept Azazel from getting too close and scaring Slaughter.

“Because she is,” Oryx grunted.

Astra didn’t understand but she didn’t need to she supposed. “Okay… do you know why I’m here?”

“No,” Savathün said unhelpfully.

Astra made her way further into the nest. “What about the other?” Oryx just growled. “Never mind,” she said. Best not to bring it up then. She sat down next to Killing. The little hatchling was as large as Slaughter itself and was curled up against it. She looked up at Savathün. “Why is Slaughter here?”

“It is her nanny now. It will keep an eye on her when I cannot,” Savathün said. Astra had a terrible feeling about that. If Slaughter was scared of Azazel and Azazel wanted to get close to this young Imperial for any reason it would turn tail and flee leaving her unprotected. The thought alone made Astra revolted. It was bad enough Azazel took advantage of her. She wouldn’t let him do the same to this sweet thing.

“I will too,” Astra said.

“You?” Oryx scoffed.

“Yes. Me. Her ‘big sister’,” Astra said firmly. She watched Killing sleep a bit more before getting to her feet. “I’m going back to sleep now,” she said. “When will you bring her to the rest of the Warren?”

“Once she’s old enough to go through the changing ritual,” Savathün said.

“Alright. I can’t wait to meet her,” Astra said.

Savathün lowered her great head and gently nuzzled Astra’s face. “You are a sweet girl, Astra,” she said. Astra smiled at her. She gently patted Savathün’s nose and picked her way back across the nest and over Oryx’s tail and back out of the chamber.

Abbadon was standing guard where she’d left him, glaring Azazel down where he was leaning against the far tunnel wall. She came up beside Abbadon and touched his wing gently. He looked at her with his furious red eyes and she squeezed his wing a little. He walked with her out of the chamber. Him leaving it made Azazel stand upright and move aside. Abbadon herded him to the other side of the tunnel so he couldn’t interfere with Astra. “You leave her alone,” she hissed at Azazel.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Azazel said like the slime he was.

She narrowed her pale green eyes at him. “You touch her and I will let Aten beat the shit out of you, letter, or no letter,” she hissed.

He chuckled. “My dear you act like that’s a threat,” he said with a smirk curled up under his stupid mustache.

“I swear to the Windsinger, Azazel, leave her alone.”

“I haven’t done anything.”

“Not yet you disgusting filth,” she said.

“Sticks and stones my dear. And I’ll be seeing you soon.”

She couldn’t help it. She just gave a wordless hiss of hate at him and Abbadon’s guttural growl echoed the violence she wished to inflict upon him. Azazel didn’t seem disturbed at all by the display.

She patted Abbadon on the withers and then took a step back. Abbadon growled at Azazel and as Astra quickly walked away he returned to his guardianship at the mouth of the nesting cavern. Astra unshuttered her lamp as she went and made her way back up through the twisting tunnels to her room.

 


End file.
